Doug Bandow

Length does not equal strength. That’s one lesson of President George W. Bush’s latest speech on Iraq. The president apparently believed that the more he talked to the American Legion on Tuesday, the more persuasive he would be. But tossing in every argument that he’d ever used before, along with the kitchen sink, is unlikely … Continue reading “George W. Bush, Iraq, and the Kitchen Sink”

The Republican Party is in desperate straits. How else to explain that Rudy Giuliani – a former mayor with no foreign policy experience – is the Republican front-runner, largely based on his supposed foreign policy expertise? That the former mayor is unsuited to be president is evident from his recent essay in Foreign Affairs. He … Continue reading “Rudy Giuliani: Confused, Ignorant, or Deceitful?”

The Last Days of the Incas Kim MacQuarrie Simon and Schuster, 2007 544 pp. Today the U.S. military can destroy – almost effortlessly – any other organized armed forces on earth. American weapons are a generation ahead of those of its allies, let alone the Third World nations which are today’s targets of attack, invasion, … Continue reading “The Last Days of the Incas“

Korea has joined the first rank of nations. You wouldn’t know it, however, listening to the Korean public’s reaction to the kidnapping and murder of Korean aid workers in Afghanistan. It is America’s fault. Christian missionaries long have been active in Korea. The first president of South Korea, Syngman Rhee, was a product of American … Continue reading “Korean Whining: The Price of Dependence on America”

Troublesome Young Men: The Rebels Who Brought Churchill to Power and Helped Save England Lynne Olson Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2007 436 pp. As President George W. Bush steadfastly pursues a ruinous policy in Iraq, his supporters laud him as a latter-day Harry S. Truman or even Winston Churchill. Standing firm against the appeasing elites … Continue reading “Troublesome Young Men“

President George W. Bush and his supporters live in the world of “what ought to be.” The U.S. ought to be able to crush the insurgency, establish liberal democracy, and impose Western values in Iraq. America ought to be able to spread U.S.-style political systems throughout the Mideast. Washington ought to be able to remake … Continue reading “The Conquest of America by Iraq”

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who imagines himself as Winston Churchill in temporary political exile, desperately wants to be president. He imagines himself running not just America, but the world. Worse, he thinks that is what the American people want. In criticizing President George W. Bush, Gingrich opined: “You hire presidents, at a minimum, to … Continue reading “Running the Country, Running the World?”

Japan Rising: The Resurgence of Japanese Power and Purpose Kenneth B. Pyle Public Affairs, 2007 433 pp. Asia is changing, and with it the global balance of power. The People’s Republic of China (PRC) is well on its way to becoming a regional power, an indispensable partner to most other nations in East Asia. Later … Continue reading “A New Era in Asia:
Japan Rising“

The best that can be said about the upcoming presidential election is that in January 2009 President George W. Bush and Vice President Richard Cheney will be out of office. It is tempting to believe that their successors couldn’t be worse. Yet only the “second tier” 2008 aspirants offer a clear break with the Bush … Continue reading “Presidential Hawks,
Left and Right”